Denver police on Monday released body-worn camera footage of an officer shooting an allegedly armed, fleeing teenager in Paco Sánchez Park last week, hitting him at least once in the leg.
Officers responded to two ShotSpotter reports in the 1300 block of Lowell Boulevard at around 10:40 p.m. Feb. 24 and found three shell casings in the area, Denver Police Department Cmdr. Matt Clark said in a briefing Monday.
A resident who called 911 about the gunshots reported seeing a group of people on scooters and bikes fleeing on Lowell, and officers later found a group of four juvenile males on scooters near West 13th Avenue and Knox Court and followed them into the park, Clark said.
One officer recognized one of the teens as a suspect in a shooting in southwest Denver in early February where someone shot into a home while people were inside.
The officer saw the 17-year-old holding a gun in his right hand and ordered him to drop it. The officer then saw him “turn his shoulder toward him” and began shooting at the teen, Clark said.
Body-worn camera footage of the shooting shows the teen running in the distance and the officer telling him to “Drop the (expletive) gun, I will shoot you,” before he begins firing one second later.
The officer fired his gun 10 times, according to the video. Police caught up to the teen moments later and he can be seen on the ground with blood on the sidewalk as the officer twice orders him to “Drop the gun, I will (expletive) kill you.”
“I don’t have a gun, sir,” the teen can be heard saying. “You guys shot me for nothing.”
Officers applied a tourniquet to the teen’s leg and he was taken to the hospital, where he’s still being treated and is expected to recover, Clark said.
Investigators found a Glock along the park path with one round in the chamber and found a magazine elsewhere in the park.
The teen is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder in the early February shooting, and a second teen seen running in the video was arrested on suspicion of weapons charges after police say he was carrying a Glock with an extended magazine and auto sear, which modifies it into an automatic weapon.
During the briefing, Police Chief Ron Thomas said he was comfortable with the officer’s actions because “he perceived a significant threat to our community” and responded appropriately.
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